1. Technical Field
This invention relates to vehicle article carriers, and more particularly to a ski rack attachment for an existing vehicle article carrier having a conventional cross bar positioned above an outer body surface of the vehicle.
2. Discussion
Ski racks have been produced in a variety of forms for supporting a plurality of skis, such as snow skis or water skis, as well as ski poles and other like articles, above an outer body surface of a vehicle such as a roof or deck lid to make transporting such articles easier and more convenient. Prior developed ski racks have often involved complex and dedicated structure which is required to be secured to the outer body surface of a vehicle. Other forms of ski racks have involved various forms of ski rack attachments that have required additional hardware, and often extensive hardware, to enable them to be secured to existing components such as cross bars of an existing vehicle article carrier.
While such ski racks have operated generally satisfactorily for their intended purpose, the inconvenience associated with attaching and removing such ski racks from existing vehicle article carrier components, such as cross bars, has often made prior developed ski racks cumbersome to use. The requirement for numerous additional component parts to enable the ski rack attachment to be secured to the existing vehicle article carrier has often introduced added expense in the manufacture of such ski racks, as well as added complexity to the process of attaching and removing such ski racks from existing vehicle article carrier components.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a ski rack attachment for supporting a plurality of skis and/or related articles such as ski poles which may be quickly and easily secured to a cross bar or like supporting member of an existing vehicle article carrier. Such a ski rack attachment would preferably include some means for securing the attachment directly to the cross bar or like member of the vehicle article carrier without the need for extensive assembly or disassembly steps, and without the need for a variety of tools.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a ski rack attachment which is adapted to be quickly and easily secured to an existing cross bar or other like support member of an existing vehicle article carrier, without the need for extensive assembly or disassembly steps being required for effecting attachment or removal of the ski rack attachment to the cross bar.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a ski rack which can further be quickly and easily attached and detached from a cross bar of an existing vehicle article carrier without the need for special tools.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a ski rack which has an integrally formed portion adapted to clampingly engage a portion of a cross bar of an existing vehicle article carrier, and a separate, independent securing member adapted to be secured to the ski rack to enable the ski rack to be secured to the cross bar with a minimum number of external component parts.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a ski rack attachment which is easily adjustably positioned along a length of a cross bar of an existing vehicle article carrier to allow for loads to be distributed evenly along the cross bar or to permit other cargo to be secured to the cross bar.